Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Hello again, after years of just accepting my ejection problem I started looking into it again. I went to the range and shot about 20 rounds and got 4-5 FTE, exactly as before, stovepiping and even getting stuck in the far left of the receiver.

My extractor did not seem to be to short or worn off, my bolt wasnt that loose eihter. Looking at the shells that got stuck I noticed it was weird that they had the typical ak dent, so they must of been on their way out but bounced back in. I loaded a Mag and just charged the gun by hand without the dust cover on, everytime the bullets would eject the same no hangups. With the dustcover on however they would somtimes just kind of flop out, the ejection pattern was random.

My conclusion was that the shells are probably ejecting and hitting the dust cover in a weird way and therefor getting flung back into the receiver.

I bought myself a soviet ribbed dustcover, when comparing to the factory one, the opening was a bit longer on the soviet one.

Im not entirely sure if this is really the problem, but when going to the range I shot 40 rounds without any jams. I was using steel case ammo(Tulammo) so I'll have to test it out on the brass case aswell.

But so far so good.

I'll keep this thread updated in case anyone else has a similar issue.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

You'll notice on the ribbed cover that there is a more defined roll on the metal that rolls inward to make the ejection port when the die in the press comes down to strike and create the top cover from the sheet metal. I wonder if some of these top covers are made from worn out dies or incorrect geometry.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

First things first. With some dummy rounds manually eject them to see if it is an ejector problem.

If they eject then your bolt is not going back far enough most likely and could be the spring or piston hanging up but my bet is you have a plugged gas hole at the barrel or you are losing gas before the piston some how or it got pressed on wrong at the factory.

Most 556 Saigas tend to be over gassed so I bet this is what is happening if they manually eject.

Also it could be your mag what kind are you using but if it manually ejects then the bolt is not going back far enough.

These guns really eject along way ,so if you are not throwing the cases out like that it points to your bolt not going back far or fast enough.

If you reload try going a little hotter on a few loads. This will confirm a gas issue

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Im sure you mean the extractor claw, I have taken the bolt apart and cleaned it twice after 3 range days. I changed the extractor spring yesterday and will test it on tuesday (ak-74 spring, is a bit longer).

Cleaned the hole gas system as good as I could and everything runs smoothly without getting stuck.

Charging the gun manually does not cause a FTE but im sure its due to the fact that I cannot manually create the same force like the gas does, although the shells still get a nick on the rim from the ejector hitting them.

Is it possible the extractor spring is to strong? It's not easy to push it by hand and when charging the gun by hand and guiding the bolt and carrier by hand into the foward position it will sometimes not be able to pass the rim, i have to give it a extra push. While shooting this does'nt occur.

I suspect that the rifle is overgassed and is affecting the ejection pattern to the point that cases occasionally bounce back into the receiver. As you already noted, the .223 case in an AK action can have a tendency to flip backwards and hit the forward edge of the dust cover. The fact that the addition of an older style ribbed dust cover reduced (but didn't eliminate) the FTEs shows that this may have something to do with it.

Here we have this handy video where someone actually captured the action of a Saiga .223 - note how the case comes really close to bouncing right back into the receiver

I suggest that you buy a couple different recoil springs (another OEM and a Wolff XP) and see where it gets you. You can significantly change the ejection behavior of the .223 case by altering the spring stiffness of the recoil assy.

My .223 Saiga I have always felt was overgassed, to the point that I usually swap in a Wolff XP spring & rod if I know I'll be shooting hotter ammo in it. It makes a huge difference in felt recoil and ejection pattern & distance. However it has never malfunctioned due to that.

It's interesting that your original Saiga dust cover had the stamped lip on the ejection port. Mine doesn't that, just a blunt edge. Not sure if this is a design revision or a manufacturing error.

Edited July 21, 2017 by mancat

1

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I would recommend you try a buffer. It would appear to be very over-gassed, and the buffer will absorb some of the excess energy, allowing the spent round to eject properly. From the pics, it looks like the brass is ejecting with way too much force, causing them to bounce back into the action. Another thing to check is the ejector nub in the left side of the receiver - if this is worn,chipped, or too far back the round coming up from the mag can jam the spent brass.